Jack Li: Building a bridge for the future

[Photo provided to China Daily]

"I hope in the future it will be an international education and communication center based on the public resources of Princeton University, not only in the greater New York area, but also covering all of the states," Li said.

Li is also a collector of relics and it's plain to see from the center's hallways, where artwork from both his personal collection and local artisans is on display.

"I've always had a great interest in relics," Li said.

His private museum, a two-story villa not far from his office, is filled with Chinese antiques that he has collected from around the world.

The villa, called ZG Legendary Museum, sits on a 64-acre estate that Li bought in 2008 at the time of financial crisis - it's only one of the estates he owns.

He named the estate's main house "1730 Manor" because it was completed in 1730 and ranks as one of the 10 oldest manors in the US. Over the past centuries, many luminaries, including President George Washington and President Theodore Roosevelt, have stayed there.

"China has a long history of 5000 years with a brilliant civilization. But there are thousands of Chinese cultural relics that have drifted out of China in modern times," said Li.

"Building this museum is firstly to protect these cultural relics and secondly to help local Chinese gain a better understanding of their culture and history by visiting the museum," said Li.

"Now that I have the ability, I want to do something good not only for myself, but also for my motherland," Li added.

"When people leave their motherland, they become more and more concerned about it," Li said with great feeling.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com